Wife mourns after husband shot to death

STOCKTON - A young widow wept Wednesday while remembering the man she married and the life that was lost Monday morning when gunfire erupted at a north Stockton apartment complex.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - A young widow wept Wednesday while remembering the man she married and the life that was lost Monday morning when gunfire erupted at a north Stockton apartment complex.

LeeAndra and Rashode Matthews, both 26, were high school sweethearts who met about 10 years ago in Union City. They got married in 2011 and moved to Stockton in 2012, she said.

Rashode was visiting friends at the Coventry Apartments in the 4800 block of Kentfield Road shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday while his wife was at work. Rashode told his friends he was leaving to meet his wife at work, probably to surprise her with lunch, she said, but he never arrived.

Rashode was confronted in the parking lot by two armed men, his friend Jose Zamora said. Zamora heard Rashode pleading for his life and saw one of the two men open fire on him, striking him at least once. Paramedics rushed Rashode to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.

"I was at work, and my phone was going off a lot," LeeAndra said. "His sister called me to ask me what happened, and I didn't understand what she was saying. I said, 'I think you've got it mixed up. Let me call him.' But he never answered."

Later that day, Stockton police arrested two 19-year-old men, Bobby Sherell Miller and Kyren Nicodemus Nicholson, on suspicion of homicide in connection with Rashode's death.

"My husband does not get to enjoy his life anymore, so I don't think they should get to enjoy theirs," LeeAndra said. "I don't want them to get the death penalty, but I hope they get convicted, and I hope they never get out (of prison)."

Zamora said Rashode may have been targeted because of an earlier fight involving one of his cousins. LeeAndra said she didn't know if the shooting stemmed from the fight and noted that the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office asked her not to discuss certain details of the case, but she insisted that Rashode did not deserve to die.

"I don't really know the connection between his cousin and whoever did this to him, but I believe my husband was the wrong victim," LeeAndra said.

LeeAndra's mother said she and Rashode recently encountered one of the alleged gunmen at a local park.

"Rashode said, 'Mom, let's go,' because that boy with the long hair (Miller) was at the park," she said.

LeeAndra said Rashode wanted to be a mechanic and a youth counselor. She said he was not engaged in drug use or criminal activity.

"He never liked to do that kind of stuff," she said. "Anytime he met somebody who was doing that, he was trying to make them see that they could do better. He was going to school to be a mechanic so he could open up a shop, but he wanted to be connected to people who were getting out of jail who wanted to change their lives around. He was going to give them a job and teach them how to live the right way and go to church and stuff."

The couple have no children.

Rashode's death has devastated his family and left them with unexpected expenses. The family is trying to raise money to help with his burial costs.

Anyone wishing to donate to the Rashode Matthews Memorial Fund can do so at fdmim.com/rmf. Donations also can be made to Bank of America account No. 0032625684 and Chase Bank account No. 202880595.

"I would bring this stuff up to him, but he didn't like to talk about it," she said. "I wanted him to know what my wishes are, and I wanted to know what his wishes were, but he never wanted to talk about it. He was just like, 'Hey, we're alive right now, so we just need to enjoy life. I don't want to talk about dying right now.' "

Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or janderson@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/crimeblog or on Twitter @Stockton911.